1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming external electrodes on component chips for a electronic component, an apparatus for inserting the component chips into component holding holes of a component conveyer belt, an apparatus for coating with an electrode paste the component chips that are held within the component holding holes of the component conveyer belt, and the component conveyer belt for conveying the component chips in a state of being resiliently held.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.H6-215991 discloses an apparatus for forming external electrodes on both ends of a component chip. The apparatus has an endless belt having resilient masks with small apertures, sprockets having the endless belt wound there around, means for inserting component chips into the apertures in the resilient masks, means for coating with a terminal paste respective end portions of the component chips that are inserted into the apertures, and means for extracting the component chips with the paste coating out of the resilient masks.
In the above-noted apparatus, pins each having the same diameter as each of the apertures are used for inserting the component chips into the apertures in the resilient masks provided on the endless belt, moving the component chips within the apertures, or extracting the component chips out of the apertures. For this reason, if the centerline of each aperture should be slightly incorrectly aligned with the centerline of each pin, the tip of the pin would be caused to strike the opening edge of the aperture. In addition, the colliding pins are forcibly inserted into the apertures, resulting in damage to the apertures.
This misalignment may necessarily occur due to dimensional precision of the endless belt, the resilient mask or the like, which is difficult to be prevented. Therefore, if operations of inserting the components into the apertures, moving the components within the apertures, or extracting the components out of the apertures are repeatedly conducted, the damage to the apertures in the resilient masks will be caused to increase. As a result, there suffers from the disadvantage that the component chips may not be inserted into the apertures, the inserted component chips may be dropped out therefrom, or the like. Therefore, the expected external electrode formation will not be satisfactorily achieved.